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Marth (Japanese: マルスMarth) is the prince of Altea, son of King Cornelius and his wife Liza, indirect descendant of the hero Anri, and inheritor of both the divine blade Falchion and the task of using it to strike down Medeus, the Shadow Dragon. Driven from his kingdom by the Dolhr Empire in the beginning of the War of Shadows, he took refuge in Talys for two years before departing to amass an army to resist and strike down the empire's grip on Archanea. Years later, he led Altea in the War of Heroes against his corrupted former friend and ally, Emperor Hardin of Archanea. He developed a reputation as a legendary hero, destined to lead all of Archanea to salvation, as represented by his use of the legendary Fire Emblem. In time the continent of Archanea came to be united under his rule, and he became renowned throughout history as the legendary "Hero-King" of the United Kingdom of Archanea.

Biography

Earlier life

Marth enters his exile.

In the early days of the War of Shadows, some time after King Cornelius had departed with Falchion to challenge the forces of Dolhr, Marth remained behind in Altea with his mother and Elice, committing himself to his studies; with much of the Altean army out to war under Cornelius, the defence of Altea was maintained by a Gra garrison. After Gra turned on Altea in the midst of battle, the garrison at Altea did the same, seizing the castle for Dolhr. While Elice stayed behind to buy Marth time, unknown to Marth himself, he fled the castle guided by Malledus, and gathered a small number of Altean knights to accompany him: Abel, Jagen and Frey.

On their way out, Cain returned from the battlefields of Gra to report the death of Cornelius and join Marth's group, and Marth rescued an Altean knight captured and gagged by the Gra forces, Gordin. Gra's King Jiol arrived with a wave of reinforcements, closing in on Marth's group; to ensure the escape of Marth and the others, Frey offered himself as a decoy, dressing as the prince and fleeing to the south, luring Jiol and the reinforcements away. Draug then arrived, having prepared a ship to facilitate the group's escape from Altea, and from there Marth reluctantly fled for Talys, swearing he would one day return to free his homeland and seek vengeance upon Gra and Grust.

War of Shadows

Following Altea's fall, Marth and his retinue lived in exile in Talys for the next two years, hosted in the island nation's eastern fortress by King Mostyn. When the pirates of Galder descended upon Talys to raid it, called into action by the arrival of Caeda, Marth's forces departed the fort to combat the invasion; upon its fall, on the advice of Mostyn, Marth's retinue left Talys to commence its goal to rebel against the domination of Dolhr.

The group's first destination was Aurelis, where during their liberation of the country from Macedon occupation, Marth swiftly befriended Hardin, the country's prince, and was entrusted with the Fire Emblem by Princess Nyna of Archanea, symbolising his fate as the world's chosen champion against Dolhr. From there, Marth led the army to reclaim Archanea, then proceeded on to Gra in an effort to find Falchion, said by Cain to have been taken by the country from his father's corpse. Gra fell, yet Falchion was nowhere to be found, leading Marth to reluctantly decide to detour to Khadein, on Malledus's theory that it had come into Gharnef's possession, instead of pressing on to liberate Altea.

Marth is greeted by the Altean people.

The trip to Khadein proved fruitless, with Falchion and Gharnef still nowhere in sight, and Marth turned his sights on liberating Altea. Upon Altea's fall, Marth learned of his mother's death at the hands of Morzas and that Elice had passed into Gharnef's hands. Despite his grief at this news, and despite Nyna and Malledus suggesting he take a break, he nonetheless greeted the people of Altea, joyful at their freedom.

From there, Marth led his army in the conquest of Grust and Macedon, before being sent by Gotoh to Thabes in order to confront Gharnef. With Gharnef's death at the hands of a member of Marth's army wielding Starlight, Marth recovered Falchion and, at the top of the tower, reunited with Elice, who had been imprisoned by Gharnef for the purpose of using the Aum staff. In the closing days of the war, Marth turned his focus toward Dolhr Keep, where Medeus himself lay in wait. Engaging him in battle, wielding Falchion, Marth struck down Medeus as Anri had a century before.

At the end of the war, spurred by Nyna's urging, Marth finally confessed to Caeda his longtime affections for her, and the two became engaged.

War of Heroes

In the year following the end of the War of Shadows, Marth devoted himself to the reconstruction of Altea and had planned a date for his wedding to Caeda, only to be interrupted by a missive from Hardin, now the Emperor of Archanea. Hardin bade Marth to lead the Altean army to Grust to suppress an insurrection there, a command Marth could not disobey owing to Archanea's power over Altea. Leaving Cain in charge of Altea's defense, Marth took Jagen, Arran, Draug and a number of newer knights with him to address the Grustian crisis. In Grust, he met with Lang, the general of the Archanean occupying force in the region, whose malicious attitude disgusted Marth; Lang revealed the alleged rebellion was being led by Lorenz, a former ally of Marth's, which raised Marth's suspicions about the situation. Marth soon learned that Lorenz was trying to protect the Grustian heirs, Yumina and Yubello, from the Empire and that the uprising was in response to the harsh Archanean domination of the region. Lorenz died from wounds sustained in an earlier battle, and with his last words warned Marth of Hardin's change into a tyrannical figure.

Despite Marth's protests, Lang arrived and took the two heirs into his custody, then commanded Marth to travel to Macedon and address another rebellion there, in which a military coup had taken Marth's former ally, Princess Minerva, prisoner. Marth's army successfully subdued the coup with the aid of Catria and Palla, but failed to find Minerva as she had already been taken away by her brother, Michalis. During this battle, Marth met Julian and learned of the mysterious disappearance of Minerva's sister Maria, and of the cleric Lena. He also encountered Linde, who entrusted Marth with the Fire Emblem again on Nyna's orders, although she remained unaware of why Nyna did so. Lang's next order to Marth was to recapture Yumina and Yubello, who had been freed from captivity in his castle by Ogma and were on the run; Marth, however, refused point-blank to follow Lang's orders any further, and his defiance was taken as an act of war by Lang, who fled upon being challenged by Jagen. Marth's army moved to rescue Ogma and the children, adopting them into his army along with a mysterious masked knight known only to him as Sirius. At the battle's end, Caeda arrived and broke the news to Marth that Altea had fallen to an assault by the Archanean army, and that only she had escaped while Elice remained behind to hold them off.

In a bid to end the Archanean abuse of the Grustian people, Marth led an attack on Olbern Keep, Lang's domain and the Archanean headquarters in Grust. Following Lang's defeat, Marth found Wendell imprisoned in the fortress, who told him of his quest to collect the lost pieces of the Starsphere to prevent the world from falling into ruin. On Wendell's advice, Marth travelled to the Fane of Raman in a bid to find some of the shards, only to find it stripped of all its contents by a band of local marauders. Their next destination was Chiasmir, seeking to cross the bridge to avoid pursuit, only to find the entire area already under the thumb of Hardin himself, who approached Marth and announced his intent to crack down on all possible dissent against him. Marth had no choice but to escape Chiasmir by sea, taking a ship north to Khadein. Marth resolved to find a way to pierce the dark protection his army had observed surrounding Hardin, but was interrupted by an attack by Khadein's mage corps. During the battle he and Wendell found his friend Merric fighting his former classmate Ellerean, who in a jealous fit toward Merric had seized control of Khadein and directed its army to attack Marth and Merric; he was also approached by Minerva, who had been tasked by Michalis with joining up with Marth to fight Hardin.

Once the crisis had been settled, he was contacted through magic by Gotoh, who told him of Hardin's fall to the Darksphere and requested he travel to the Ice Dragon Temple in the north in order to collect the Lightsphere, the only means of piercing the Darksphere's protection and saving Hardin. Guided by Xane, Marth travelled to the Ice Dragon Temple on foot along Anri's Way, a path once traversed by Anri himself a century prior. As he travelled the route through the Marmotord desert, the Flame Barrel graveyard and the frozen wastelands of the north, fighting degenerated wild dragons, collecting the Starsphere's shards and learning from Xane the true history of Archanea, the manaketes and the creation of the Falchion and Fire Emblem. Upon reaching the Ice Dragon Temple, Gotoh used the twelve shards to reconstitute the Starsphere, giving both it and the Lightsphere to Marth to use against Hardin. He also allowed Marth to wake Tiki and take her with him on his journey, on the condition that Marth collected all five of the Emblem's spheres to restore its true power and allow Tiki to survive.

Marth leads his army in the final battle against Hardin.

Gotoh sent Marth's army back to Altea with his warp magic, and Marth once again fought to free Altea from Archanean conquest. At the battle's end, Gotoh contacted him again to warn him of Gharnef's return, and that Gharnef was responsible for abducting Elice, Maria and Lena for reasons unknown, and that he likely sought to abduct Nyna next. Marth resolved to lead a march on the Archanean capital itself, to stop Hardin and get to Nyna before Gharnef abducted her; unbeknownst to him, Nyna had already been given away to Gharnef by Hardin himself. After a long campaign, Hardin fell to Marth's army, and as he died his mind returned to him and he begged Marth to save Nyna and stop Gharnef. Having collected the final sphere from Hardin, the Fire Emblem was restored to its true form, the Binding Shield; Marth was approached by the four missing clerics, but the Shield's power revealed it to be an illusion cast by Gharnef. Gotoh then arrived and told Marth of how Gharnef was preparing to revive Medeus himself using the four clerics.

In order to stop Gharnef, Marth travelled to the Dragon's Table in the Macedon/Dolhr border region. En route he visited a village and encountered a severely wounded Michalis, who gave Starlight to Marth for use against Gharnef once more. In the Dragon's Table, Marth's army fought Gharnef once more and used Starlight to kill him, allowing Marth to finally reclaim Falchion from him. The revived Medeus awaited in the next chamber, now evolved into the powerful form of a Shadow Dragon, surrounded by the four clerics hypnotized into his service. Determined to rescue the clerics, Marth had some of his allies work to awaken them, clearing the way for him to kill Medeus for the second and final time.

Marth and Caeda, together after the war.

With the War of Heroes finally over, most of Archanea's noble houses were left in ruins. Almost all of its surviving rulers ceded sovereignty over their territories to Marth himself, and so Marth united the continent as the United Kingdom of Archanea, serving as its first king with Caeda as his queen. Under Marth's reign, the continent experienced a golden era of peace and its wounds began to heal.

Legacy

At least two thousand years later in the era of Fire Emblem: Awakening, Marth's tale has passed into legend and he is revered as a mythical figure of the utmost importance, revered as the "Hero-King" and a legendary ruler beyond compare. The royal house of the Halidom of Ylisse, one of several post-unified Archanean nations, are his descendants and continue to wield both the Falchion and the Binding Shield, which they now call the Fire Emblem. In their portrayal of him, Ylissean culture appears to have reinterpreted Marth as fiercer and harsher than he actually was, overlooking the legacy of victory through kindness he built.[2] When she travelled back in time to try and prevent the resurrection of the fell dragon Grima, Marth's descendant Lucina cloaked her true identity as Chrom's daughter by adopting the name of Marth as her own.

Role

Marth is the game's lord character in both the main story and the Normal Mode prologue, and in every chapter save the Endgame he is required to seize the throne to clear the chapter. His death is an automatic Game Over.

Main story

Although he is long dead and never personally appears, Marth's legacy has a prominent presence in Fire Emblem: Awakening. Set thousands of years after Mystery of the Emblem, Marth has become a legendary figure in history, dubbed the "Hero-King"; Chrom and the rest of the Ylissean royal family are descended from him. While Chrom, Lissa, Frederick and the Avatar are returning to Ylisstol from Southtown, Lissa is attacked by a group of Risen, but is saved by a mysterious swordsman bearing the name "Marth". This "Marth" present in the modern day wears a blue mask which obscures the top half of his face, and wields a sword which is nigh identical to the sealed Falchion treasured by Ylisse and currently wielded by Chrom. During an assassination attempt onEmmeryn, "Marth" is revealed to actually be a woman, though it is not until two years later that she reveals herself to be Lucina, Chrom's future daughter, who has returned to the past to prevent the resurrection of the Fell Dragon Grima.

Unlike all other bonus units, Marth has an individualized appearance not based on specifically customized Avatars, instead being adapted from Lucina's in-game models. He is the only unit of any kind able to be of the Lodestar class, a Lord-like class based on Lucina's Lord outfit which can wield Rapiers and Noble Rapiers like normal Lords. He is also allowed to wield all three Falchion variants, which are otherwise exclusive to Chrom or Lucina.

Marth is also present as an enemy in the second and third installments of the Champions of YoreDLC series in his Prince Marth version, the second and third installments of Lost Bloodlines in both his Prince Marth and King Marth versions, and the second and third installments of Rogues & Redeemers in his Prince Marth version. Additionally, he appears as an ally unit in both Champions of Yore 1 and Rogues & Redeemers 1 in his Prince Marth version, as well as in Lost Bloodlines 1 in his King Marth version.

Starting stats and growth rates

This section is missing stats or growth rates which may be currently unknown. When this information becomes available, please help improve the page by adding it.

Personality and character

Marth is a confident man who believes he has a responsibility to devote himself to his country, his people and his responsibility as a prince above his own personal life. Even as he struggles to cope with the tragedies befalling his personal life, he knows others count on him as a symbol of hope and reassurance and always puts their reliance upon him first instead of focusing on his own pain.[3] Similarly, despite his and Caeda's mutual love of each other, he initially believed the demands of healing their battered nations meant that any attempt to act on these feelings would conflict with this, and that their desires had no place interfering.[4] He has a deep desire to help and save as many people as he could and will give his all to ensure this, but is nonetheless a pragmatist in his approach and accepts the hard decisions this necessitates, as with when he realized his chances of convincing Camus to stand down were minimal despite Nyna's wish to recruit him.[5] On occasion, Marth likes to joke about the situation he finds himself in as a way of expressing confidence in his ability to handle it.[6]

Marth's experiences and losses during Altea's fall scarred him greatly: he deeply regretted his inability to save Altea from conquest by Gra or to save Elice, believing himself to have failed everyone through cowardice. He came to be consumed by hatred and a desire for vengeance against Gra, Grust and Medeus's other allies, never giving any thought to the feelings of the people and soldiers until he encountered them personally and heard their words while waging war in Gra.[7] Learning from the realities of war and its impact on everyone, not just his own nation, during the War of Shadows ultimately guided Marth to look past his hatred and see his enemies not just as enemies, but as people with minds and wishes of their own. Prior to the reclamation of Altea in the War of Shadows, Marth also hoped despite the odds that Liza and Elice were still alive and well in Altea and that some part of his former life would still exist for him to return to, and was distraught to learn of his mother's death and Elice's captivity under Gharnef.[8] Even so, he again refused to allow his own grief to interfere with inspiring hope in his subjects.

Other appearances

This section has been marked as a stub. Please help improve the page by adding information.

Marth is the protagonist of Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem, an anime adaptation of the beginning of Mystery of the Emblem. Being that the adaptation's English-dubbed release predated Super Smash Bros. Melee or any other semblance of official English naming for the cast of Fire Emblem, his name is translated here as Mars. His role is much the same here as it was in the game it adapts, with the addition of an exploration of the emotional consequences the fall of Aritia and the loss of his family had on him.

Super Smash Bros. Melee

Marth appears in Super Smash Bros. Melee as an unlockable playable character, along with Roy of Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade. Being that no Fire Emblem games had been localized anywhere in the world at the time, the Japanese development team intended for them to be removed from international releases; however, the localization team liked them and left them in anyway, leaving their voices and sound effects in the original Japanese as a reflection of their status as having no English-language presence.[9] The two proved popular with international audiences, prompting Nintendo to give the series international releases, starting with Fire Emblem. Marth himself, however, still wouldn't get an appearance in an internationally-released Fire Emblem title for seven more years.

For his Melee debut, Marth received an updated and more heavily detailed redesign loosely based on his old Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem appearance. He is unlocked by playing 400 VS. matches, clearing Classic mode with all fourteen starter characters, or using all the default characters as a human player in VS. Mode. Wielding Falchion, his attacks and movements are very loosely based on his Fire Emblem appearances. Almost every attack with Marth is sword based, save for grab and pummel related moves. In competitive tournament environments, Marth has been consistently rated as one of the best characters in Melee, owing to his high speed, rapid combo-attack abilities and good range for a character with no projectile attacks, and is currently ranked in fourth place on the widely accepted Meleetier list.

Special moves

Shield Breaker (Japanese: シールドブレイカーShield Breaker): Marth's standard special move. An arcing sword strike which can be charged up for a short period of time to strengthen the blow; at full strength, it can pierce shields.

Dancing Blade (Japanese: マーベラスコンビネーションMarvelous Combination): Marth's side special move. A combination of four sword strikes, which attack in different directions depending on which way the analog stick is pointed for each swipe.

Dolphin Slash (Japanese: ドルフィンスラッシュDolphin Slash): Marth's up special move. A sweeping upward strike which carries Marth into the air; can be used as a recovery move to try and climb back onto a stage if Marth falls off.

Counter (Japanese: カウンターCounter): Marth's down special move. Marth assumes a brief defensive stance and will retaliate if struck in this stance, cancelling the foe's attack.

Trophies

#55 Marth

The betrayed prince of the Kingdom of Altea, the blood of the hero Anri flows in Marth's veins. He was forced into exile when the kingdom of Dolua invaded Altea. Then, wielding his divine sword Falchion, he led a revolt and defeated the dark dragon Medeus. Afterwards, Altea was annihilated by King Hardin of Akanea.

Classic Mode

#56 Marth [Smash]

Marth is a magnificent swordsman. While his swordplay is faster than that of Link, he lacks power, and his quickness if offset by a marginal endurance. His Shield Breaker gains power the longer it's held. The Dancing Blade combination uses both the Control Stick and the B Button to produce a series of up to four attacks.

Adventure Mode

#57 Marth [Smash]

The tip of Marth's blade causes the most damage, so you should try to create adequate distance between you and your enemy to gracefully strike with that point. Marth's dolphin Slash is fast and powerful, but it leaves him vulnerable upon landing. Marth uses Counter to block a foe's attack and deal a return strike. If you're fighting a Counter-happy Marth, grab him.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Marth appears again in the third Super Smash Bros. game, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, again as an unlockable character albeit with more relaxed unlock criteria. Marth can be unlocked three ways: completing ten matches in VS. mode, clearing Classic Mode for the first time on any difficulty, or by clearing his debut stage in the Subspace Emissary single-player story mode. Marth is mostly unchanged from his Melee incarnation, with some of his special moves receiving minor buffs, and like every other playable character he now wields a Final Smash attack, Critical Hit. As in Melee, Marth is again viewed competitively as a highly viable character to use, and ranks in fifth place on the current widely accepted Brawltier list.

In The Subspace Emissary, Brawl's story mode, Marth is first encountered at the Battlefield Fortress, which he fights to defend from a siege by the Subspace Army. While he holds them off at first by himself, he soon encounters Meta Knight and joins forces with him to take on the army. In a battle with the Ancient Minister, the two meet Ike, who joins them in pursuing the Subspace Army through the desert. During their desert exploration, they fight and defeat the Subspace boss Galleom, who they send tumbling into the ruins below. Marth later joins with the rest of the characters and accompanies them in an attack on Subspace itself. Their first attempt meets with failure and Marth, along with everyone else, is turned into a trophy by Tabuu, but is freed by Ness, Luigi, Kirby, and King Dedede, and can be chosen to challenge Tabuu in the final battle if his trophy is saved.

Special moves

Shield Breaker (Japanese: シールドブレイカーShield Breaker): Marth's standard special move. A lunging stab which can be charged up for a short period of time to strengthen the blow; at full strength, it can pierce shields.

Dancing Blade (Japanese: マーベラスコンビネーションMarvelous Combination): Marth's side special move. A combination of four sword strikes, which attack in different directions depending on which way the analog stick is pointed for each swipe.

Dolphin Slash (Japanese: ドルフィンスラッシュDolphin Slash): Marth's up special move. A sweeping upward strike which carries Marth into the air; can be used as a recovery move to try and climb back onto a stage if Marth falls off.

Counter (Japanese: カウンターCounter): Marth's down special move. Marth assumes a brief defensive stance and will retaliate if struck in this stance, cancelling the foe's attack and dealing to the foe more damage than Marth would have sustained.

Critical Hit (Japanese: 必殺の一撃Critical Hit): Marth's Final Smash. A single rapid strike across the battle field which deals immense damage to the foe if it hits, accompanied by a rapidly depleting Fire Emblem-style HP bar.

Trophies

#-- Marth

The prince of Altea, in whose veins the blood of heroes runs. He and a small group of stalwarts fought to free Altea after it was invaded by the kingdom of Doluna and the dark dragon, Medeus. With his divine sword, Falchion, he fought and defeated Medeus. However, Altea was then invaded by King Hardin of Akaneia and eventually destroyed.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U

Marth is playable once again in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, this time as a starter character available from the game's beginning. For this appearance, coming after his most recent appearances in the two Fire Emblem remakes for Nintendo DS, he has received a significant redesign and now appears as he does in Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem, Heroes of Light and Shadow. In the transition to these two games, Marth is widely considered to have sustained significant nerfs to his prowess in gameplay, likely in response to the dominant role he played in the prior two games: most prominently, Falchion's blade length has been decreased, hampering Marth's range, which in prior games was central to his success. He is also slightly slower and has slightly laggier moves.

As in Melee, Marth once again has a clone character accompanying him: his descendant, Lucina. According to director Masahiro Sakurai, originally Lucina was planned as an alternate costume for Marth himself, but as development progressed her attributes diverged from Marth's and she was ultimately turned into a separate character.[10]

Like all playable characters in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, Marth also has an amiibo figurine, released in the first wave of Super Smash Bros. amiibo. This amiibo can be scanned by Smash Bros. to add a trainable AI Marth into matches, which can be ported between copies of the game.

Special moves

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U introduce customizable special moves, allowing players to customize their characters with variants on their usual special moves with somewhat different functionality. All of his special moves and their variants are shared with Lucina.

Shield Breaker (Japanese: シールドブレイカーShield Breaker): Marth's standard special move. A lunging stab which can be charged up for a short period of time to strengthen the blow; at full strength, it can pierce shields.

Storm Thrust (Japanese: ストームスラストStorm Thrust): This Shield Breaker variant produces a gust of wind that pushes opponents back. The longer the charge, the larger the gust.

Dancing Blade (Japanese: マーベラスコンビネーションMarvelous Combination): Marth's side special move. A combination of four sword strikes, which attack in different directions depending on which way the analog stick is pointed for each swipe.

Effortless Blade (Japanese: イージーコンビネーションEasy Combination): This Dancing Blade variant performs the entire four-blow combo no matter what speed the special button is pressed, but is weaker and will do the same attack type every time.

Heavy Blade (Japanese: ヘビーコンビネーションHeavy Combination): This Dancing Blade variant widens the spacing between all four hits and has reduced knockback, but deals greater damage.

Dolphin Slash (Japanese: ドルフィンスラッシュDolphin Slash): Marth's up special move. A sweeping upward strike which carries Marth into the air; can be used as a recovery move to try and climb back onto a stage if Marth falls off.

Crescent Slash (Japanese: クレセントスラッシュCrescent Slash): This Dolphin Slash variant carries Marth at a diagonal angle, and deals more damage if it strikes higher in the jump.

Dolphin Jump (Japanese: ドルフィンハイジャンプDolphin High Jump): This Dolphin Slash variant has increased height, but deals no damage at all.

Counter (Japanese: カウンターCounter): Marth's down special move. Marth assumes a brief defensive stance and will retaliate if struck in this stance, cancelling the foe's attack and dealing to the foe more damage than Marth would have sustained.

Critical Hit (Japanese: 必殺の一撃Critical Hit): Marth's Final Smash. A single rapid strike across the battle field which deals immense damage to the foe if it hits, accompanied by a rapidly depleting Fire Emblem-style HP bar.

Trophies

#-- Marth

NA: The first hero from the Fire Emblem series, Marth is the prince of Altea and descendant of the hero Anri. In Smash Bros., he's known as an exceptional swordfighter, swinging his blade with grace. Striking with the tip will maximize the damage dealt. Teach aggressive foes a lesson with his strong Counter move.PAL: Marth, the prince of Altea, is the hero of the first ever Fire Emblem game and its remake, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon. In this game, his graceful sword skills are what set him apart. Strike with the tip of his blade to deal extra damage, and use his Counter skill to defend yourself, no matter which directions you're being attacked from.

NA: Marth's side special Dancing Blade is a four-stage attack. Aim and time your strikes carefully! The tip of his sword does the most damage. For his up smash, Justice Sword, he thrusts his blade into the air. You can use it to block attacks from above and launch nearby foes.PAL: Marth's side special, Dancing Blade, is a four-stage attack. Aim and time your strikes carefully! As usual, the tip of his sword does the most damage. For his up smash, Justice Sword, he thrusts his blade into the air. You can use it to block attacks from above, and even to launch nearby enemies off the ground.

Marth is featured as a bonus playable character in the Nintendo 3DS title Code Name: S.T.E.A.M..[11] His appearance is triggered by using Marth's amiibo at a specific point during gameplay. As is standard for the Fire Emblem series, but atypical of characters in Code Name: S.T.E.A.M., Marth cannot be brought back into a battle after being defeated; instead, the player must use his amiibo again in order to use him again. For the first time since the OVA, Marth is voiced by an English-speaking voice actor, Yuri Lowenthal, in this game's English version.

In Code Name: S.T.E.A.M., Marth has access to two weapons. His primary weapon is Falchion, which inflicts high damage in a single blow, and his secondary weapon is the Rapier, which is a quick weapon which effectively targets weak points; he also comes with a unique Boiler, the sources of the game's characters' steam energy, which takes the form of his cape and is simply known as Marth's Cape. He also has exclusive access to a Special Ability called Lodestar which heals his allies.[12]

Trivia

Marth has appeared in more games than any other Fire Emblem character (excluding Anna's frequent minor roles), totalling ten apppearances. However, he has not appeared in the most Fire Emblem games of any Fire Emblem character, only appearing in five: his absence from both Fire Emblem Gaiden and BS Fire Emblem: Archanea War Chronicles leaves him beaten out by Catria, Palla, Est and Camus, who have all appeared in a total of seven Fire Emblem games.

Voice credits

While Hikaru Midorikawa's performance as Marth is the most prominent in both Japanese material and Super Smash Bros., numerous other voice actors have portrayed Marth in less well-known Japanese media over the years, primarily drama CDs.

Etymology and other languages

Names, etymology and in other regions

Language

Name

Definition, etymology and notes

English

• Marth• Mars

• His current English name, used in all material since Super Smash Bros. Melee. Derived from Mars, the Roman god of war and the equivalent of the Greek Ares; also the name of the fourth planet of Earth's solar system, and the French word for the month March. There is a German municipality named Marth, but it is unlikely to have had any influence on the character's name. The "Marth" translation was popularized primarily by Super Smash Bros. Melee.• From the Roman god Mars, as above; this name is used only in the OVA's English dub. Rather than the traditional pronunciation of Mars, here it is pronounced closer to "Marce", a very straight interpretation of the katakana.

References

↑"Lucina: I just didn't expect the mighty King Marth to be so...er, nice.Tiki: And how DID you imagine him?Lucina: The Marth of history led the liberators and smashed the power of evil dragons! He brought peace to the entire world at the edge of a sword. He must've been a fierce, unforgiving man who struck fear in friend and foe alike! How could he not have been, when he was forced to wage such a terrible war?Tiki:...I suppose he was unforgiving—at least when it came to himself. He never stopped looking for a way to lead the world to peace. And every victim and sacrifice on that path haunted him..." - Lucina and Tiki, Fire Emblem: Awakening

↑"Nyna: Marth...perhaps you should let that wait, just until you are able to share their joy with them. We could send someone in your stead-Marth: No, that would not do. Today is a momentous day for my kingdom and my people. I must celebrate with them now, not later. Anything else would be a disservice to those who died to save Altea. I am a prince before I am a son or a brother. Come, Malledus. Let us go greet my people." - Nyna and Marth, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon

↑"Nyna: You wish to send Caeda home to Talys, then, and return to Altea alone? That is what you want?Marth: Well, that's where we both belong. I don't see what my wants have to do with anything." - Nyna and Marth, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon

↑"Nyna: I hated him, too, at first. But in the time, I found my hatred tempered by the compassion he showed me, my feelings...changed. And now, all I wish is to see him again...But not if it means you and he must fight.Marth: Nyna... Do you... I cannot make any promises. But I will do what I can. I hope you can accept that.Nyna: Thank you, Marth. I could not ask for more." - Nyna and Marth, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon

↑"Nyna: Grust's artillery...Our opponent is mighty.Marth: Nonetheless we must face them head-on; they stand between us and Altea.Nyna: That hunger for danger worries me, Marth. Humanity's hopes rest on your shoulders. I would sooner not see them crushed.Marth: Which? Humanity's hopes, or my shoulders? ...Have a little faith, Nyna. The enemy ballisticians can strike from afar, but they're powerless up close. All we need to do is move in and silence them before they do too much damage. Watch!" - Nyna and Marth, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon

↑"Nyna: Spectacularly done, Marth. ...Does something ail you? I thought you would be happier.Marth: Today, there was this commoner... She mentioned Grust was divided about the war. Some of its people wanted to fight with Altea, she said...Ever since I lost my father and kingdom, I've held nothing but hate in my heart for Gra and Grust...but not once did I give any thought to what must have been going on in their heads.Nyna: And now you find your hate for them has been lessened?Marth: No... the hate remains. I will never forget the pain they inflicted upon me, the rage I felt. Yet now, at least, I can tell you it's not just hate...Not anymore.Nyna: Not all evils are wrought of evil purposes. Perhaps this sounds naive, but...A true leader needs to look at his opponent and see more than just an enemy." - Nyna and Marth, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon

↑"Nyna: Marth! Any word? Have you found your family? Your sister?Marth: ...My sister was taken by Gharnef. She is no longer here... And my...my mother is... She is dead. Slain...by that Dolhrian dragon...Nyna: ....! Marth, I am truly sorry...Marth: I thought there would be something...some part of my old life I would be coming back to. I fought so hard..." - Nyna and Marth, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon